Wrapper feed for roll wrapper



Jan. 10, 1967 G. J. PRAGER WRAPPER FEED FOR ROLL WRAPPER Filedr sept. 29, 1964 5 Sheets-Sheet l l l l|| 5 ./l .V l 1 I l i l i l I l I l I I I l |.l l .i n l l t 1 l |11 I i l l I I I I n HIWIWIIIIIHHIIIIUNIHM l. l l I I I I I I I l Il Il I l I I I I I l I I 'l I.

INVENTOR GEO RG P RACER ATTORNEYS Jam. EU, 1967 G. J. PRAGER WRAPPER FEED FOR ROLL WRAPPER 5 Sheets-Sheet' 2 Filed Sept. 29,' 1964 O\43 nNvENToR GEORGE J, PRAGER 4s, FiGL AT TO R NEYS 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 PRAGER INVENTOR Jan. l0, 1967 G. J. PRAGER WRAPPER FEED FOR ROLL WRAPPER Filed sept. 29, 1964 ww @il my AT TOR NEYS 3,296,906 WRAPIER FEED FOR RILL WRAPIER George .1. Prager, Rosemont, Pa., assignor to Beloit Eastern Corporation, Downingtown, Pa., a corporation of Delaware Y Filed Sept. 29, 1964, Ser.. No. 400,19

16 Claims. (Cl. 83-175) This invention relates to improvements in apparatus `for feeding wrappers for wrapping rolls of paper and the like.

In carrying out the present invention I have provided an apparatus for supplying Wrappers of selected widths for wrapping rolls of paper as they come from the paper mill, it being understood that in the paper mill, different paper lines may be producing runs of different widths and thereby producing an output of paper rolls of not only different widths, but different diameters and other characteristics.

The feed of the .present invention makes it possible for the wrapping apparatus to wrap intermingled rolls of paper of various widths and diameters with little, if any attention from the operator of the machine except to make a selection of width and length of paper to wrap a roll of a selected width. This may be done iby a card which may be taken yfrom the roll as it leaves the rnill. Wrapping paper may thus be supplied for wrapping paper rolls of various characteristics, sizes and weight and the rolls may also be supplied with more than one ply of Wrapping paper if desired.

A principal object of the present invention is t-o provide a feed for wrapping rolls, supplying the wrapping paper webs for wrapping rolls of paper as they come from the paper mill, so arranged that the width and plies of wrapping paper may readily be selected by the operator of the machine in accordance with the width and weight of the roll of paper to be wrapped.

Another object of the invention is -to provide a simplitied form of feed for feeding wrapping paper for shearing to length, for wrapping rolls of paper coming from the paper mill, in which a novel ldrive and control arrangement for the feeding rolls is provided to reverse the direction of the roll for a portion of the cycle of rotation thereof at the termination of a feeding operation, and thereby release tension in the web.

A further object of the invention is to provide a wrapper feed lfor feeding Wrapping paper for wrapping rolls of paper and the like, in which individual feed rolls are provided for individual Widths of webs of wrapping paper and driven from a common drive mechanism lunder the control `of selectively operable one revolution clutches, and in which the direction of rotation of the Ifeed rolls is reversed for a sector of rotation thereof at the termination of a feeding operation.

A further object of the invention is to provide an improved form of wrapper feed for feeding wrapping paper for shea-ring to length for wrapping rolls of paper in which a pair of feed rolls is provided for eac'h width or ply of wrapping paper and the wrapping paper webs pass along a common guide, guiding the paper to the feed rolls, in which the drive to the feed rolls is through a selectively operable one revolution clutch, and in which means is provided to draw the paper web backwardly upon shearing thereof, to reduce the tension in the web and to prevent the dragging of a new web from between the webs in the guide, when a fresh we'b is fed for shearing.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a feeding device for feeding wrapping paper for shearing to length to be supplied for wrapping rolls of paper and the like, in which a Wrapper 'web is passed in the nip between a feed roll and a rider roll engaging the feed roll and in which the feed roll is driven by a one-way clutch,

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Patented dan. 11B, 196? in which a friction brake is provided to place a drag on the feed roll and rotates with the feed roll for a portion of a cycle of rotation thereof, and is moved baclewardly to its initial position -upon the release of the one-way clutch, to reversely drive the feed roll to release tension on the web during the shearing operation, and thereby prevent the web from interfering with the new web fed for shearing and wrapping.

These and other objects of the invention will appear from time to time as the following specification proceeds and with reference to the accompanying drawings where- FIGURE 1 is a plan `View of a wrapper feeding apparatus constructed in accordance with the principles of the present invention;

FIGURE 2 is a side view of the wrapper feeding apparatus looking substantially along line IiI-II of FIG- URE l;

FIGURE 3 is a fragmentary sectional view looking substantially along line III- III of yFIGURE l and looking at the opposite side of the feeding apparatus from FIGURE 2;

FIGURE 4 is an enlarged detail side View of the discharge end portion of the feeding apparatus, showing the friction drag clutch in one position and the position it will assume when the feed roll associated therewith is idle; and

FIGURE 5 is a side view of `the friction drag brake, showing the position of the brake during a web feeding operation.

In the embodiment of the invention illustrated in the drawings, I have shown in FIGURES l, 2 and 3, a wrapper sheet feeding device 1@ drawing wrapper lengths, which may be of various widths, from individual rolls (not shown) each of which is provided with a conventional drag brake. As shown in FIGURE 3, wrapper lengths or webs 11, 11 are trained under a guide roll 12 disposed rearwardly of the wrapper feed, while other wrapper webs 13 are trained over a guide roll 15 disposed rearwardly of the wrapper feed and beneath the guide roll. The wrapper lengths or webs 11, 11 and 13, 13 may be of various widths to suit the width of roll to be wrapped.

The Wrapper feeding apparatus includes generally a pair of spaced side frame members 16 extending upwardly of a base 14 and suitably connected together to be retained in parallel spaced relation with respect to each other. The plates 16 are inclined upwardly from the forward to the rear end thereof and form bearing supports. Individual drive rolls 1'7 and rider rolls 18 for each web are successively spaced behind and above each other from the forward to the rear end of said side plates and supply wrapper webs to pass along an inclined guide 19 terminating in a horizontal throat Zit, guiding the individual wrapper webs to a shear 21.

From the shear 21 the wrapper sheet passes between the tapes of a tape conveyor 22 to a wrapper station diagrammatically shown in FIGURE 4 and indicated by reference character Z3. At the wrapper station 23, a roll of paper 24E- is supported on power driven drums 25 and rotatably driven by said drums. The wrapper length may have glue applied thereto prior lto passing to the wrapper station and passes into the nip between the advance drum 25 and the roll and then into the nip between the forwardly spaced drum 25 and the roll 24. The glued surface of the wrapper length will then adhere to the roll at its leading end to be wrapped thereabout upon turning movement of the roll. The wrapper length may then be sheared to length, in accordance with the number of plies to be applied to the roll.

During the wrapping operation, the tape conveyor 22 is driven at a slightly higher speed than the peripheral speeds of the feed rolls 17 and the roll 241 is driven by the drums 25 at a still slightly higher peripheral speed than the speed of the tape conveyor 22 to pull the paper web more rapidly than it is normally fed by the feed roll 17, and thus tend to rotate the feed roll 17 ahead of a one-way drive clutch 75 therefor, in order to maintain tension and good tracking of the web and prevent skcwing and wrinkling thereof.

The shear 21 includes a stationary cutter block 29 extending between the side plates 16 at the front of the discharge throat 20 of the inclined guide 19.

As shown in FIGURES 3 and 4, the shear 21 includes a shearing blade 31 clamped to a tool holder 32 secured to and extending along a cross head 33 pivotally mounted at its ends in parallel spaced upright supports 35 extending upwardly from opposite sides of the base plate 14. The cross head 33 has trunnion shafts 36 and 37 extending from opposite ends thereof and journalled in the bearing supports 35. The shaft 37 extends outwardly of its ybearing support 35 and has a lever arm 39 keyed or otherwise secured thereto and depending therefrom. A connector 40 on the end of the piston rod 41 is pivotally connected to the lower end of the lever arm 39 on a pivot pin 43. The piston rod 41 extends from a piston (not shown) in a cylinder 44 (FIGURE 1), suitably supported on the base 14. The cylinder 44 may be a double acting air cylinder and may be supplied with air at one end to rock the cross head 33 in a direction to engage the shear blade 31 with the shear block 29 and shear the Wrapper web to length. The admission of fluid under pressure at the opposite end of the cylinder 44 will return the cross head 33 to the position shown in FIGURES 3 and 4. Air under pressure may be sequentially supplied to the head and piston rod ends of the cylinder 44 under the control of a suitable air valve (not shown), which may be sequentially controlled in accordancewith the diameter of the roll and required length of wrapper web in accordance with the number of plies of wrapper to be placed around the roll.

An inclined plate 45 extends across the side plates 16 and forms the top plate of the inclined guide 19. The plate 45 is shown as terminating at its upper end into a horizontal portion 46 spaced above and extending to the nip between the uppermost drive roll 17 and the rider roll 18. The plate 45 terminates at its lower end into a horizontal lip 47 extending toward the shear 21 and cooperating with a downwardly spaced horizontal plate 48, to form the throat 20. The lip 47 and plate 48 are spaced equal distances from the nip between the lowermost drive roll 17 and rider roll 18.

A horizontal plate 49 extends parallel to the plate 46 and is spaced therebeneath and terminates into an inclined plate 50, extending downwardly lto a position just above the nip between the second set of feed rolls 17 and 18. A plate 51 extends inwardly at the lower end portion of the plate 50 to a position adjacent the nip between the rolls 17 and 18, while a plate 52 is spaced therebeneath to form a horizontal guide opening to the inclined guide 19 and terminating into an inclined plate 53 parallel to the plate 45. -In a like manner individual plate structures 54, 55 and S6 extend between the side plates 16, 16 and form horizontal guides lleading from the nips between the respective feed rolls 17 and 18 to the guide 19 and form the bottom surface of the guide 19, for guiding the individual webs of paper to and along said inclined guide to move downwardly therealong and out through the throat 20 to the shear 21 and past said shear between the tapes 22 to the drums 25, 25 rotatably driving the paper roll 24 for a wrapping operation.

The plates 16 each have a series of upwardly open guide slots 65 therein, opening upwardly from the feed rolls 17.

Each horizontally aligned pair of guide slots forms a slidable guide for bearing blocks 69, slidably mounted therein and forming bearing mountings for shafts 70 for the rider rolls 18. Beneath the slots 65 are bearing mountings 71 for drive shafts 72 for the feed rolls 17. Only two bearing mountings 71 are shown herein (FIG- URE 3), but it should be understood that aligned bearing mountings are provided on each side plate 16 1n association with each upwardly opening slot to journal the shafts 72 in vertical alignment with the idler shafts 70.

The feed rolls 17 on the shafts 72 may be rubber covered drive rolls, while the idler rolls 18 may be made from steel. The bearing boxes 69 are slidably guided in their respective slides or slots to permlt the rider rolls 18 to exert pressure on the feed rolls 17 by gravity and thereby provide a pressure nip between each drive roll and rider roll, to individually feed the paper webs from their source, and progress the webs downwardly along the inclined guide 19 through the shear 21 and between the tapes 22 to be wrapped about a roll of paper 24.

On one end of each shaft 72 is a selectively operable one way clutch 75. The clutches 75 are each dr1ven from an individual drive pulley 76, coaxial wlth the respective clutch and driven from an endless belt 77. As shown in FIGURES 1 and 2, the endless belt 77 1s driven from a pulley 79 on the end of a shaft 80, extending laterally of and driven from a speed reducer 81. The speed reducer 81 in turn is driven from amotor 82, and its casing is shown as being connected with the casing for said motor. The motor 82 and speed reducer 81 may be of a conventional form and are no part of the present invention, so need not herein be Shown or described further.

The belt 77 is trained from the drive pulley 80 under an idler pulley 83 on a shaft 84 extending outwardly of the side frame member 16. From thence the belt is trained upwardly around the drive pulley 76 at the upper end portion of the associated side frame member 16. From thence the belt is trained downwardly along and over the successive drive pulleys 76 and around idler pulleys 85 disposed between said drive pulleys and maintaining bights in the belt between the respective drive pulleys 76. From the lowermost drive pulley 76, the belt is trained backwardly to the drive pulley 79.

The clutches 75 may be conventional forms of selectively operable one way clutches and preferably are electric clutches selectively energizable to affect a drive to a selected drive roll 17 in a direction to feed a wrapper web downwardly along the inclined guide 19, and to accommodate reverse rotation of the drive roll 18 at the termination of a feeding operation. The clutches being conventional, need not herein be shown or described further.

The opposite end of each shaft from the one way clutch 75 has a brake drum 88 keyed or otherwise secured thereto and engaged by a drag brake 89.

The drag brake 89 may be in the form of an annular friction block or series of friction shoes 90 extending inwardly of an annular band 91 and engaging the periphery of the brake drum 88. A leaf spring 93 is riveted to the periphery of the band 91 as a rivet 95 and extends angularly downwardly therefrom under a post 96, secured to and extending laterally of a side plate 16. The to and extending laterally of a side plate 16. The spring 93 has a curled or hooked trailing end 97 spaced from the post 96.

As the drive roll 17 and Ibrake drum 88 are driven by the one way clutch 75 in a clockwise direction, to supply a wrapper web to the paper roll 24, the friction block 90 and band 91 will rotate with said drive roll against the leaf spring 93, bearing against the post 96. Rotation of the block 90 will continue until the curled trailing end 97 of the leaf spring 93 hooks into engagement with the post 96. This will restrain rotatable movement of the block 90 and band 91. Feeding of the web will then continue with the brake shoe 90 and spring 93 in the position shown in FIGURE 5. As, however, the one Way clutch is deenergized and the `drive to the feed roll is disengaged and the web is cut off by the shear 21, the spring 91 by its stored up energy will rotate the block 90, brake drum 88, shaft 72 and feed roll i7 in a counterclockwise direction, drawing the leading end of the web baclrwardly from the shear knife 3l and releasing tension in the web as it passes over its guide roll, which may either be the guide roll l5 or the guide roll 12, depending upon the wrapper web being used to wrap the roll of paper. This release in tension in the web releases pressure between the various 'webs passing over or under the respective guide roll and prevents the dragging of the new web from between the webs when a fresh web is fed. lt also clears the leading end of the web from the block 29 and provides a free block for the new web, and avoids interfering with cutting of the ne'w web.

While I have herein shown and `described one form in Iwhich the invention may be embodied, it may readily be understood that various variations and modifications in the invention may be attained without departing from the spirit and scope of the novel concepts thereof.

I claim as my invention:

1. A wrapper feed comprising a frame,

a feed roll rotatably journalled i-n said frame,

a rider roll slidably guided in and rotatably journalled in said frame to engage the top surface of said feed roll and maintain a pressure nip therebetween,

means selectively operable to drive said feed roll in one direction,

a drag brake associated with said feed roll and retard ing rotation thereof,

means accommodating rotation of said drag brake with said feed roll for a portion of a cycle of rotation thereof and returning said drag brake and said feed roll in a direction contra to a feeding direction upon discontinuance in the drive to said feed roll, to release tension from the web fed thereby.

2. A wrapper feed comprising:

a feed roll,

a rider roll engaging the surface of said feed roll and maintaining a pressure nip therebetween,

one way clutch means selectively operable to drive said feed roll in one direction and to accommodate free rotation of said feed roll in an opposite direction,

a drag brake retarding rotation of said feed roll in a feeding direction,

yieldable means connected with said drag brake permitting rotation of said drag brake with said feed roll for a portion of the cycle of rotation thereof and returning said drag brake and feed roll by the stored up energy in said yieldable means, upon the disengagement of said clutch.

3. A wrapper feed in accordance with claim 2 wherein the yieldable means comprises a leaf spring secured to said drag brake at one end and reacting against a xed abutment at its opposite end.

4. A wrapper feed in accordance with claim 2 wherein the drag brake includes a peripheral band having a friction block secured to and extending inwardly therefrom,

wherein the yieldable means comprises a leaf spring secured to said peripheral band and extending generally tangentially therefrom,

wherein a stationary reaction post is engaged by said leaf spring,

and wherein said leaf spring has a curled free end portion engageable with said post and stopping rotation of said drag brake,

and returning said drag brake and feed roll by the stored up energy in said spring upon the disengagement at said clutch and the discontinuance in the drive to said feed roll,

to withdraw the wrapper web fed thereby and thereby relieve tension on the web.

5. A wrapper feed comprisi-ng a frame,

a shaft rotatably journalled in said frame,

a feed roll mounted on said shaft and having a resilient face,

guides extending vertically of said feed roll in alignment therewith,

bearing boxes slidably guided in said guides,

a rider roll journalled in said boxes and engaging the surface of said feed roll and maintaining a pressure nip between said rolls,

a one way clutch coaxial with said shaft and selectively operable to drive said shaft and feed roll in a feeding direction,

a motor and means driven by said motor for driving said one way clutch,

a shear in advance of said feed roll for shearing a wrapper web to length,

and yieldable means releasing tension on the web at the termination of shearing comprising friction brake means rotatable with said shaft for a portion of the cycle of rotation thereof and retractible to reversely rotate said feed roll and withdraw the wrapper web.

6. In a feeding device for feeding wrapper `webs for wrapping rolls of paper and the like and in combination with a shear shearing the wrapper web to length,

a frame spaced rearwardly of said shear including parallel spaced side plates,

a shaft journalled in said side plates and extending transversely of said frame,

a rubber covered feed roll mounted on said shaft and rotatably driven thereby, upwardly opening guides in said side plates in alignment with said shaft,

bearing boxes slidably guided in said guides,

a -metal rider roll rotatably journalled in said bearing boxes and engaging said feed roll by gravity and maintaining a pressure nip therebetween,

a drag brake coaxial with said shaft and retarding rotation of said shaft and feed roll in a feeding direction,

and a yieldable member connected with said drag brake and accommodating said drag brake to rotate with said shaft and feed roll for a portion of a cycle of rotation thereof and returning said drag brake and feed roll to an initial position at the termination of a shearing operation and thereby withdrawing the wrapper web from said shear and relieving tension thereon.

'7. A feeding device in accordance with claim 6 wherein a brake drum is secured to said shaft for rotation therewith,

wherein said drag brake engages said brake drum to retard rotation of said shaft and feed roll and wherein the yieldable member accommodating rotation of said drag brake with said shaft and feed roll is in the form of a leaf spring secured to said drag brake and extending tangentially therefrom and a stationary post secured to an associated side plate and extending outwardly therefrom and engaged by said leaf spring,

and wherein said leaf spring has a hooked outer end portion engaging said post and limiting rotation of said drag brake with said feed roll and shaft,

and returning said feed roll and drag brake by the stored up energy therein.

S, In a feeding device for feeding wrapper webs for wrapping rolls of paper and the like and in combination with a shear,

shearing the webs to length,

a frame rearwardly of said shear and including a base having parallel spaced side plates extending upwardly from opposite sides thereof,

a plurality of parallel spaced shafts extending transversely of said frame and journalled in said side plates,

a first shaft being disposed adjacent the forward end of said frame and shear and the other shafts being spaced rearwardly of said first shaft and rearwardly of each other at successively increasing elevations,

a rubber covered feed roll mounted on each shaft and rotatably driven thereby,

upwardly opening guides in alignment with said shafts,

bearing boxes slidably guided in said guides,

a metal rider roll in association with each feed roll and rotatably journalled in said bearing boxes and engaging said feed rolls and maintaining pressure nips therebetween,

a guide roll disposed rearwardly of said feed rolls and guiding a plurality of wrapper webs to the nips between said feed rolls and rider rolls,

a separate one way clutch coaxial with each shaft and selectively operable to drive said shafts and feed rolls in feeding directions,

a guide extending downwardly between said side plates in an inclined direction to said shear,

and individual guides extending from the nips between said feed rolls to said guide and having guiding communication therewith,

a separate drag brake on each shaft and retarding rotation thereof in a feeding direction,

and an individual yieldable member connected with each drag brake,

allowing said drag brake to rotate with said feed roll for a portion of a cycle of rotation thereof and returning said drag brake and feed roll at the termination of a feeding operation upon the shearing of the wrapper web by said shear,

and thereby withdrawing the wrapper web from said shear and releasing tension of the web passing over said guide roll.

9. A feeding device in accordance with claim 8 wherein each drag brake includes a brake drum mounted on an associated shaft,

a band encircling said brake drum,

a brake block on said band engageable with said brake drum,

and wherein the means accommodating rotation of said drag brake with said brake drum and returning said drag brake and feed roll comprises a leaf spring extending tangentially of said band and secured thereto and having a hooked trailing end,

a stationary post extending from said side plate engaged by said leaf spring and the hooked end portion thereof,

said leaf spring extending under said post and said hooked end portion limiting movement of said drag brake with said brake drum and effecting the return of said drag brake and feed roll by the stored up energy in said spring,

to thereby withdraw the wrapper web from said shear at the termination of a shearing operation and to relieve tension on said web passing over said guide roll and thereby prevent the dragging of a new web from between the webs passing over said guide roll,

upon the feeding of a fresh web.

10. A feeding device in accordance with claim 8 wherein the webs are of different widths,

in which the one way clutches are electrically energizable to feed only one web at a time,

and in which wrapper drums supporting the roll of paper are driven at higher peripheral speeds than the feed rolls and draw the wrapper web between said drums and roll of paper at a higher linear speed than the peripheral speeds of said feed rolls and thereby maintain tension on the web prior to shearing and tend to drive said feed rolls more rapidly than said one way clutches, to thereby maintain tracking of the web and prevent skewing and wrinkling thereof.

11. In a feeding device for feeding wrapper webs for wrapping rolls of paper and in combination with a shear shearing the web to length,

a frame disposed rearwardly of said shear including a base and parallel side plates extending upwardly of said base,

a plurality of parallel shafts journalled in said side plates,

a rst shaft being disposed adjacent the lower end portions of said side plates and the remaining shafts being spaced rearwardly and upwardly of said first shaft,

a rubber covered feed roll mounted on each shaft and rotatably driven thereby, upwardly opening guides extending along said side plates in alignment with said shafts,

bearing boxes slidably guided in said guides,

a metal rider roll rotatably journalled in each pair of bearing boxes and engaging an associated feed roll by gravity and maintaining a pressure nip therebetween,

a motor,

a belt driven by said motor,

a separate one way clutch coaxial with said shaft,

a drive connection from said belt to said clutches,

said clutches being selectively operable to drive an associated feed roll in a feeding direction,

a guide roll disposed rearwardly of said frame and guiding a plurality of superimposed webs of different widths to the nips between said feed and rider rolls,

inclined guide means extending downwardly along said side plates and guiding the wrapper webs to said shear,

an individual drag brake associated with each shaft and retarding rotation thereof in a feeding direction,

and including a band and a block extending inwardly therefrom,

a leaf spring secured to said band and extending tangentially thereof,

a stationary post associated with said leaf spring and marntaining tension thereon,

said drag brake being movable with said shaft for a portion of a cycle of rotation thereof,

and said leaf spring having a hook-like trailing end engaging said post and limiting movement of said drag brake with said shaft,

and returning said drag brake, shaft and feed roll by the stored energy of said spring upon disengagement of said one way clutch,

and thereby withdrawing the web from said shear after a shearing operation and relieving tension of said web as it passes `over said guide roll to prevent the dragging of a new web from between the webs when a new web is fed by another feed roll.

12. A wrapper feed in accordance with claim 11 in which the paper roll to be wrapped is supported on rotatably driven drums,

rotating at higher peripheral speeds than the peripheral speeds of said feed rolls, wherein the wrapper web passes in the nips between the paper roll and said drums and is drawn thereby to rotate the associated feed roll at a higher rate of speed than the rate of speed of its drive clutch,

and thereby maintain tension on the web prior to shearing and prevent skewing and wrinkling of the web.

13. In a wrapper feed for feeding wrapper webs for wrapping rolls of paper and in combination with a shear, a conveyor at the discharge end of said shear and roll supporting drums supporting and rotatably driving a roll of paper for wrapping, wherein the conveyor and roll supporting drums rotate at successively higher linear speeds than the linear speed of the wrapper, the improvements comprising:

a feed roll,

a rider roll engaging the top surface of said feed roll 9 and maintaining a pressure nip therebetween,

a one way clutch for driving said feed roll at a lower peripheral speed than the speed of travel of the conveyor whereby said conveyor and drums with the roll of paper thereon draw the paper web for wrapping on the roll,

and rotate the feed roll relative to said one way clutch to maintain tension on the web and tracking thereof and thereby prevent skewing and wrinkling of the web.

14. A wrapper feed in accordance with claim 13 in which a drag brake retards rotation of said feed roll, and spring means rotates said drag brake in a direction opposite to a feeding direction of said feed roll at the termination of a feeding operation, to withdraw the web from said shear upon shearing thereof and relieve tension on the web.

15. In a wrapper feed for feeding wrapper webs for wrapping rolls of paper and the like and in combination with a wrapper including roll supporting rotatably driven drums, supporting and rotating a roll of paper for wrapping, a conveyor supplying a wrapper web to said drums and a roll of paper thereon, for wrapping thereon, and a shear for shearing the paper web to length, wherein the conveyor and roll supporting drums rotate at successively higher linear speeds than the linear speeds of the wrapper, the improvements comprising:

a frame,

a feed roll rotatably journalled in said frame,

a rider roll engaging the top surface of said feed roll and vertically slidably mounted in said frame to maintain a pressure nip therebetween,

a guide leading from the pressure nip between said rolls to said shear,

means guiding a wrapper web to said feed rolls, a motor,

selectively operable means for driving said feed roll from said motor including a one way clutch,

the peripheral speed of said feed roll being less than the linear speed of said conveyor and the peripheral speeds of said support drums,

whereby the wrapper web is drawn from said feed roll by said conveyor and support drums and the roll of paper carried thereon at a higher rate of speed than the driven speed of said feed roll by said clutch,

to effect relative rotation yof said feed roll with respect to said clutch in the direction of rotation thereof and maintain tension on the wrapper web during the Wrapping operation, to effect tracking of the web and prevent skewing and wrinkling thereof.

16. A wrapper feed in accordance with claim 15 wherein a drag brake is provided to place a drag on rotation of said feed roll,

wherein a yieldable member is connected with said drag brake and accommodates rotation thereof for a portionof a cycle of rotation of said feed roll,

and effects rotation of said feed roll in a reverse direction,

by the stored up energy in said yieldable member upon the shearing of the web and the release of said one way clutch.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,939,717 12/1933 Morse 226-143 X 2,039,236 4/1936 Meisel 226-143 X 2,113,239 4/1938 Pelskeyes 83-424 X 2,279,843 4/1942 Smith et al 83-424 X 2,332,152 10/1943 Knauer 226-143 2,824,736 2/1958 Allen 226-443 X WILLIAM S. LAWSON, Primary Examiner. 

1. A WRAPPER FEED COMPRISING A FRAME, A FEED ROLL ROTATABLY JOURNALLED IN SAID FRAME, A RIDER ROLL SLIDABLY GUIDED IN AND ROTATABLY JOURNALLED IN SAID FRAME TO ENGAGE THE TOP SURFACE OF SAID FEED ROLL AND MAINTAIN A PRESSURE NIP THEREBETWEEN, MEANS SELECTIVELY OPERABLE TO DRIVE SAID FEED ROLL IN ONE DIRECTION, A DRAG BRAKE ASSOCIATED WITH SAID FEED ROLL AND RETARDING ROTATION THEREOF, MEANS ACCOMMODATING ROTATION OF SAID DRAG BRAKE WITH SAID FEED ROLL FOR A PORTION OF A CYCLE OF ROTATION THEREOF AND RETURNING SAID DRAG BRAKE AND SAID FEED ROLL IN A DIRECTION CONTRA TO A FEEDING DIRECTION UPON DISCONTINUANCE IN THE DRIVE TO SAID FEED ROLL, TO RELEASE TENSION FROM THE WEB FED THEREBY. 